Page 3080 - Week 10 - Thursday, 15 September 1994

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Residential leases contain building and development provisions that require lessees to commence and complete construction within 12 months and 24 months respectively of the date of commencement of their leases. That time can be extended if lessees provide adequate justification for the delays in construction and they pay the required fees. The Commonwealth, and now the Territory Government, has always had the ability to grant extensions of time to build in appropriate circumstances.

(1) From time to time, my Department checks compliance with lease development

provisions and encourages non-complying lessees to complete their obligations.

The Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991 provides the opportunity for the Department to seek orders against recalcitrant lessees that would require them to meet their obligations within a reasonable time or face monetary penalties or loss of their land. Orders have been used successfully on a number of occasions.

(2) Section 180 of the Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991 requires the

Ministers consent to the transfer of a lease where the building and development

provisions have not been met. In such circumstances, transfers of leases must

meet the requirements set out in the Act. If the requirements are met, the transfer

can be approved.

The intention of section 180 is to prevent speculation in land but the way it is worded may not achieve this. This matter has been referred by the Department to the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Committee for consideration in its review of the Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991.

(3) (a) & Records are not readily available to identify the total number of

(b) extensions granted beyond 24 months since April 1991. Our concern

is to ensure that buildings are constructed within a reasonable time

and, where that is not possible, we deal with requests for extension on

a case-by-case basis. Where necessary, we will not resile from taking

strong action to ensure that development requirements are met.

An enhanced computer facility is being developed which will facilitate the extraction of information such as that sought by the Member.

months have been granted, I can say that extensions of time have

been granted in suburbs where new residential development has

occurred over the past 5 years. These include, but are not limited to,

Banks, Bonython, Bruce, Calwell, Conder, Fadden, Gordon, Isaacs,

Kambah, Melba, OMalley, Palmerston, Theodore and Wanniassa,

(4) I refer you to my answer to part 3(a) of your question and to my reference to an

enhanced computer system being developed. An examination of all the

necessary records to obtain the information you have sought would require a

diversion of valuable resources from priority tasks.

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